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World Aviation Industry News - Turkey
 
 
Turkey wants to produce his own fighter aircraft for 2023.
 

Turkey has initiated a project to produce its own warplanes by 2023, local newspaper Today's Zaman reported Friday, March 9, 202, quoting sources from the defense industry. Having been allocated a budget of 20 million U.S. dollars to develop the conceptual design of fighter jets, the project is currently in the initial phases.

     
Turkey has initiated a project to produce its own warplanes by 2023, local newspaper Today's Zaman reported Friday, March 9, 202, quoting sources from the defense industry. Having been allocated a budget of 20 million U.S. dollars to develop the conceptual design of fighter jets, the project is currently in the initial phases.
Turkish Air Force F-4 bomber-aircraft.
The Turkish Air Force (THK) currently maintains a fleet of F-4 and F-16 fighter jets, which will be replaced by U.S.-produced F- 35s in the upcoming years.
     

Long-term plans have been made for the project last week, aiming to fulfill commitments made at a meeting of the Defense Industry Executive Committee (SSIK) last year, according to the report.

Experts have begun to conduct feasibility studies, including examination of the cost of producing the country's first domestically produced fighter planes, the technology to be used, developments in the international defense markets and challenges of developing a new warplane from scratch.

SAAB, the world-renowned aerospace and defense company that produces the widely-operated JAS 39 fighter jets, will be assisting the Turkish project during the design phases, said the report.

The Turkish Air Force (THK) currently maintains a fleet of F-4 and F-16 fighter jets, which will be replaced by U.S.-produced F- 35s in the upcoming years.

The report said Turkey is planning to buy 100 F-35s at a total cost of 16 billion dollars, with the first two already ordered. However, the Pentagon refuses to release the source code of the plane's software, which contributed to Ankara's decision to produce its own fighter jets, said the report.

Currently, only a few countries -- the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France and Germany -- are reportedly producing military aircraft.